3 conclusions drawn from the Boston Celtics triumph over the Lakers

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are superstars

It is becoming increasingly clear throughout the season that there is something very special happening in Boston. After a summer of disappointment in the form of an early exit for Team USA, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are growing at the exact rate needed for the Boston Celtics to contend in 2020.

Brown had the highlight of the game (and possibly the year so far) in his poster-dunk on LeBron James in the third quarter of last night:

Coincidentally, Bleacher Report had just done a long-form profile feature on Brown that released Monday morning. In it, he revealed a lot of the issues that plagued him in 2019-19:

Brown is a new man, and he has used the experiences from last season and the FIBA World championships to grow.

Tatum is a similar case. He also saw his progress stagnate on the 2018-19 Boston Celtics team that had talent that did the opposite of jelling. He stalled last year after having a huge playoff showing during the 2018 playoffs, but as Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale pointed out, his rise to super-stardom has been gradual.

"Tying his place among the NBA’s elite to one performance would be an overreaction, as well as a disservice to his entire season. His rise has been a process, admittedly more gradual than the insta-stardom implied by his rookie campaign."

After last night’s victory over the league’s second best team, it is fair to say Tatum (27 points, five rebounds) and Brown (20 points, six assists, four rebounds) are “there” so to speak. Ending a losing skid like that in a must-win game is what stars do.